Ukraine believes North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russia's army on the Kursk front line have been "withdrawn" after suffering heavy losses, a military spokesman told AFP on Friday.

Kyiv destroys command post in Kursk after drone assault on Putin's oil refineries - Volgograd governor Andrei Bocharov says a fire temporarily broke out after a Ukrainian drone attack

Russian news outlets are actively disseminating false claims that Ukrainian troops have "killed and raped" dozens of civilians in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye in Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces are conducting operations.

The North Korean deployment, never officially confirmed by Moscow or Pyongyang, was supposed to reinforce Russia's army and help them expel Ukraine's troops.

Ukraine's special operations forces have not seen North Korean troops on the battlefield in Russia's Kursk region for around three weeks, suggesting they have been forced to withdraw after taking heavy losses,

Ukrainian military said on Friday its missile and artillery forces had hit a Russian army command post in the Kursk region as a part of its effort to disrupt Moscow's troops operations and logistics.

The number of Russians signing contracts at Moscow recruitment centers to fight in the war against Ukraine has fallen five-fold since its peak in late summer of last year, the independent Russian outlet Verstka reported on Jan. 29.

North Korean troops supporting Russia in fighting against Ukrainian forces have been removed from battle after being severely weakened from suffering a large number of casualties, officials say.

Recent reports from the “occupied” Kursk Oblast in Russia suggest that the Kremlin’s forces are being bogged down by defenses that Moscow originally erected against threats from the west. In addition to Russian “dragon’s teeth,” which limited the movement of armored vehicles and tanks, winter mud and craters further impacted a recent attack.

North Koreans are privately questioning why Ukraine has suddenly become their enemy, sources told Radio Free Asia.

President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to broker a peace deal in Ukraine, but as he prepares to take office, peace seems as elusive as ever

Russian troops regained control from Ukraine of the village of Nikolayevo-Darino in Russia's western Kursk region, the Defence Ministry said on Monday. Moscow's forces have been